Thursday, April 28, 2011

A chill and an echo

So what weather!...  My heart and prayers go to the families of those lost in these terrible storms. 

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Last Look at Easter... Tablescape....






Above is a picture of the newly engaged couple at our table....



What a beautiful day...  Many thanks to the Lord for our precious family and friends.  We were able to visit with several who hadn't been here in a while...  Our dinner was a big hit...  The Irish Sweetheart said "yes..."  and the photos by each plate were from last year's Easter Dinner....  It's time for all good little bunnies to hop away to bed for another year...  And for this bad ole bunny (me) to do the same...  I be tired!

Have a Sweet and Blessed Easter!

 It's early morning, and the house smells like mini cupcakes again...  I baked a set for each of our dinner guests tomorrow....  I'll ice them in the morning and pop them in the little pink cartons... 
 Tonight I set the table and finished many of the special preparations.  Mom and I are hiding some candy for my son and his lady love's little boy...  My almost son is bringing his girl from Ireland...  (later they are going to the Ozarks, and he has a beautiful, big diamond ring for her finger!!!!)....  We have another guest, a lifelong friend of the boys'....  and the table will have eight....
 I wish you all the joys of the springtime, the love of God, and the beautiful blessings of the holy season upon your home and families...
Happy Easter!!!!!

Friday, April 22, 2011

The copycat bunny

 So, a couple of weeks ago Tracey from A Cottage Industry posted this cute idea....
 I ordered the cute pink cartons from Ebay....  I bought my cake liners from Amazon for the minis.....

 I found this cute free tag site here.....
I made 4 dozen and Mom and I delivered them even in the rain!!!!!  Had a blast, and such a hit with everyone......


Happy Easter!!!!!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Double Take

 So...  for the past year I have been driving by this barn, this beautifully-horribly decaying barn that used to be my grandfather's....  and I have seen a HUGE bird of prey perched atop it on many occasions.  Sometimes I am lucky enough to get to watch it take off from the barn roof, wings spanning the dark boards, mounting up to the sky and plummeting down to nab some poor wretched little varmint...  Today on my way home with groceries for our Sunday dinner, I saw this pair... 
 So, I just had to swoop back around the loop and pull off the side of the road and try to get some photographs...  I am fairly sure these birds are scruffier than the usual...  I mean, they have such ruffled feathers...  They look positively miserable sitting there atop that barn...
 I guess they are hawks...  Mom says buzzards...  I dunno...  When they fly, they look like prehistoric pterodactyls...  (bless spellchecker for that one!).....
I am so odd..  I kind of love them...  I mean, you have to give them props for flying up there and surveying the farm and that vantage of the world?  It must be amazing...  but they don't look very civilized for a Missouri Sunday go to meeting kind of Palm Sunday, do they?  Perhaps they are backslider doves of peace....???

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Saturday is Special

 Today our usual Saturday Voyage side railed due to 33 degree morning temps and 40 mph wind..... Sad-faced, Mom agreed we needed to stay in and stay cozy....   So after deciding our menu--- our potato soup and turkey-cheese Frenchies....  we proceeded to salvage that special Saturday feeling...

Mom had been wanting to teach me the intricacies of her great-grandmother's "rivels"...  a kind of Pennsylvania Dutch noodle she always puts in her potato soup...  So I decided it was a great day for that kind of adventure...  I set the table with spring plaid place-mats from TenderHeart, a little pink and cream Desert Rose, my grandmother's Fostoria crystal, and our deep white bowls...
The finished product was absolutely divine.... 
Shhh!  If you know Mom, please don't tell her I put this cute picture on here..  She would truly be disappointed in me, but I just love her laugh!!!
For the Rivels, Mom takes one egg and 1 full cup of flour and gently works with a three-tined fork FOREVER to mix the two...  It seems as if you would never get it mixed, but it finally looks like this photo above..
She adds it to the bubbling, boiling kettle that has 1/2 onion chopped, 3 ribs celery chopped, and about four medium potatoes chopped in about 4 cups of boiling water..  The vegetables should be fork tender before taking small handsful of the rivel mixture and rubbing/sprinkling it in...  Stir often and cook the rivels completely in the boiling mixture (note:  so far we haven't added any milk or cheese.)
While the rivels cook....????  a little pre-dinner dessert!  Rice Krispie squares....

We finish off with about 2 cups of milk, 1 stick butter, and 1/2 pound of cubed Velveeta.  Then if you need to, add salt and pepper to taste....  Don't boil milk or cheese or it will curdle.  You need to stir often or just turn off heat, put lid on soup and let the residual heat melt the cheese....  It is a perfectly divine family comfort recipe....

Thursday, April 14, 2011

 The powers of spring have been at large the past few days.  Hot, cool, warm, now cold and stormy...  even a hint of snow showers this weekend...  Everyone is amiss at school.  Several teachers have begun the buzz of retirement, and our principal is leaving us this spring.  I am the one who isn't much on change...  not that retirement is a bad thing, but it is definitely different... 
 I'm reminded of the years I spent at home when the spring fever whipped through and left us all dancing at midnight in the darkness outside our home...  I loved the night, the full moons, the winds around the house.  I am not comfortable outside here at Mom's for some reason.  I think perhaps it was the raised deck that seemed a safety net from the wilds...  Here I have seen the wild things creep about the house and trundle beneath the barn right next to my door...  I see deer prints in the snow right beside my car, and I hear the coyotes howl between me and the redbud tree in the yard...  It's just a bit too much of a good thing.
I dearly recommend Paula Deen's "ooey gooey butter cake" with strawberry cake mix and fresh strawberries layered between the cream cheese topping and the cake mix crust...  It's another sure sign of spring at our house...

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Mist and Morning in a Sleepy Little Town...

 Friday morning before school, I had the opportunity to take a few minutes and drive around town in the mist...  About the only action was happening at the local McDonald's, where car after car loads up on coffee, breakfast, and Diet Coke (for me)...


 Jackson Street Park will later fill with kids on the equipment and teens shooting baskets, but now it is quiet and simple...  a square block in the middle of town... 


Bradford Pear Trees line many of the streets, their ivory petals a sure sign of spring at last...  Have a wonderful weekend...  Enjoy it all...

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Impromptu Party

 Last Saturday after our drive, we had a little soiree with a friend of mine who had also ridden along through Amish Country.  She purchased this delicious Strawberry Angelfood cake, and I had made some of those miracle pumpkin/chocolate cake mix muffins (seriously, it is just a can of pumpkin and a Devil's Food cake mix.  That's the whole recipe.  It is good for only about 120 calories per muffin.)  We had a cup of tea and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine...
 Now, can anyone tell me where that spring weather is right now?  It is 40 degrees, cold, and rainy....  Brrr....  Seriously Brrrrrr...
 My phone camera got into some glare with these, but I loved some of the ways the light blended into the coffee cups...

Tomorrow sounds like a good day to cozy in and clean house..  If Mom agrees, we might just cancel all appointments and drives and be domestic mavens...  Who knows for sure?

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sunshine on their faces and dirt on the heads!!!

 My cousin called this morning and told me her pansies were outside with their faces turned up to the sun..  Well, mine were still sitting on the tape deck by the computer.  So after my morning caffeine, I asked Mom if she wanted to come out and we would set out the flowers.  Wind and all, we got these babies in the ground!  It feels so wonderful, so incredibly satisfying to plant little flowers in the ground.  My grandmothers always had beautiful little vessels filled with petunias and pansies.  They always had on aprons, and they always were happy (with good food in the kitchen.) 
 I am old enough to be them...  It hits me sometimes that  Gramma and Ma were the age I am now when I first started playing and noticing...  Talk about wisdom and serenity?  I gulp in a kind of awe...  Both of them had well worn aprons and well-used Bibles.  Their gardens were a delight, and their sugar cookies never failed to comfort. 
 I see my little garden friend has a bit of sod on his head...  He is as happy as a pig in mud then, I think....  There is nothing cuter than a little Perky Pig...@@@@@
 In case you think  I have gone all Zen on you with the stalks of barren what-not shooting up to the sky.  Two years ago I planted Blueberry bushes in these containers.  Each spring they are still green, and they branch out more and more with green leaves...  Last year I had two blueberries, which I left on too long and they dried up...  If I had only known when to pluck their juiciness, both Mom and I could have had a berry on our cereal in celebration!! haha..  I will try another year.  Another of my gramma's favorite sayings:  "Live in Hope; Die in Despair!" 
 Brer Rabbit got up this morning at 3:30 a.m. and put in a roast, carrots, onions, and potatoes in the slow cooker.  The house smells amazing.  Brer Rabbit set the table and tottered back for a nap until a decent hour...  I love working in the wee hours of the night..  I feel as if I am accomplishing something at that time, rather than sleeping..  Then, I don't mind taking a wee nap while other people work circles around me later!
I made the little chickie mat a few years ago.  Chirp, chirp....  Weather bug alert says storms on the way, and the clouds have obscured the pretty sun that warmed my back only half an hour ago in the pansies...  I think my buds are going to get a big drink!  Hugs to all...